14 crazy (but totally real!) requests from VIP hotel guests

You won't believe the crazy requests guests have made at five-star hotels.

By Bryce Gruber

Is that a landing pad or are you just happy to see me?

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One guest at the Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa requested to have his helicopter land on the property. With no landing pad or permission, the concierge had to reach out to the proper authorities for approval and successfully allowed the guest to land his chopper, which if you’re familiar with zoning and aviation laws, is no small feat.

Wait, this was just a bet?

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“One Saturday morning I received a whispered call from a concierge at the Waldorf Hotel in New York, wondering if I could taxi over immediately at the request of a room that was having an argument about something sexual,” shares Eric Marlowe Garrison, a sex counsellor at William & Mary, a famous college. “I told the concierge I no longer lived in Manhattan, was a plane flight away, and politely hung up. He called me back 10 minutes later and said the room was willing to fly me there to meet with them. This time, I mentioned a ridiculous fee based on my hourly rate times all the time I’d be gone. Knowing, it would be rejected, I hung up and went on planning my day. He called back ready to book the train. I agreed out of excitement for a free trip to Manhattan, and I arrived at Penn Station by dinner.”

But when Eric arrived at the hotel, he was surprised to find a crowd of important-seeming Middle Eastern guests and their wives squabbling over whether or not it is possible to wear too much cologne.

“Yes, it’s rather common,” Eric explained to the out-of-towners. That’s when one of the women smiled, handed him a stack of hundred dollar bills, and thanked him for settling the dispute. He headed back to his home state soon after, proving that just about anything can be requested from a good concierge.

Woof, woof

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Edward Mady, a longtime manager of The Beverly Hills Hotel, asked the hotel to arrange a $15,000 wedding for her two pooches, including an ordained minister and catering. If that’s not weird enough, another guest at the hotel actually requested the entire staff address him in dog language only instead of English. We’re not sure where the accent on the word “woof” goes, but we’re assuming the word is meant to be said with a lot of exasperation if you’re a hotel concierge.

Is that a smile or just a pleased aura?

“We had guests who requested a specific room because of the effect the sun at that angle had on their aura,” shares Laura Vardon, sales manager at The Eliot Hotel, with SmarterTravel.com.

One hump or two?

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At the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona, concierge Victoria Cote was brand new on the job when a guest requested a pair of camels. Victoria told CNN she didn’t want to disappoint a guest so fresh into her tenure, and did her best to locate two perfect-seeming camels within 35 minutes. The guest went to see the camels but opted out of the purchase when he found they were each “missing” a hump.

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